When I next wake up I'm alone. My shoulder aches but as I sit up I find I can do so without needing help or to stop because it hurts to much. I try to stretch a little and test the usefulness of my arm but there's little movement. My elbow works perfectly fine, but I can't lift my arm up more than a few inches forwards or out to the side and I can't lift it at all behind me. I try to move my shoulder up and down and stop holding onto it.
I take my alone time to look around the room I've been staying in. It gives no clues as to where we are or how long I've been here. It's obviously been enough time for my arm to heal enough to a little scab on the front and back. Next to my bed is a tray with food on it. I reach over and pick up an apple and a note with it. I glance at the letters not being able to read any of it I put it back down and sigh biting into the apple.
I lean back and close my eyes thinking about what was going on. I had been out for a while and woke up to find my youngest sister working for a man my whole family hated, and though I had only talked to him briefly I understood how people didn't like him but also how they respected him. My thoughts turn to Jaime, and I start to worry for him. He could be dead right now for all I knew. What had the Godswood tree said in my dream before I woke up? Something about thinking about what I wanted to see.
I shift so I'm laying down again and put my apple on the tray. I close my eyes and try to think about Jaime. But it's not working. I get out of bed and slowly walk around thinking about him. I end up sitting against the wall cross legged, the cold wall easing the pain that had gradually worsened in my shoulder. Think of Jaime. I close my eyes and start to imagine him. With his long golden hair, and green eyes. The cheeky smile, and stubble on his face. Just as I can picture him entirely in my mind I'm seeing him. He's sitting with a Maester on a rock. The Maester is attending to his wound and seeing the state of his wound makes me feel sick. He looks miserable and just as I want to inspect him more I'm staring into the eyes of Arya.
I blink confused. "What are you doing?"
"Thinking. What are you doing?"
"I'm here to dress you. Lord Tywin wishes to speak with you. Didn't you read the note?"
"I can't."
"You can't what?" she asks as I stand up.
"I don't know how to read. I can recognize some letters and stuff but I was never taught how to read. It wasn't important and my father didn't know how."
"So you were taught how to fight by people coming and going but no one taught you how to read?"
"No one stayed long enough. Besides it was more entertaining for them to see a little girl beat up their squires or friends," she helps me take my dress off and then we put on a different one with some difficulty. "My stupid arm won't work right."
"The Maester did say to practice moving your arm and stuff so you got the movement back."
I slip my feet into shoes and we walk together her leading the way towards wherever. "Where are we?"
"Harrenhal," she says as we walk into a dining hall. Tywin is already seated looking at papers. He looks up and I see he looks impatient.
"Did you just wake up?" he asks.
"No, I needed time for myself," I say not wanting to let him know I can't read. "Besides I need help to dress."
"The note said to go find Jane."
"I didn't know where to find her, I didn't even know where I was until I just asked her."
"I went and got her sir. She was struggling to get her dress off. Her wounded arm doesn't work properly."
Tywin looks back to me, "I'll send the Maester see if he can do anything for you. In the meantime have a seat." Arya/Jane pulls my seat out for me and I sit. "We need to talk about some things first, your arm. How does it feel? Besides not working?"
"It's sore, I was shot with an arrow."
"It's almost all the way healed now. You've been here for a little over a month now. Do you know which of my men shot you? They've all been punished but-."
"I didn't see them. Besides I'm sure that animal hurt some of them."
He nods, "fine."
"I would like to ask you why you won't go help Jaime?" I can tell the question irks him.
"Because Jaime got himself into this mess he'll get himself out."
"He was captured by the Boltons, they like to torture people."
"My son is smart he'll get himself out of it."
"He's missing his hand."
"How do you know that?"
I bite my lip, "I don't. But I'm worried about him."
"He'll be fine now stop asking about him. We are going to Kings Landing for the kings wedding to your sister, and then you are to marry my son."
"I declined that offer."
"You don't have that right," he says.
"Ned declined and-."
"Ned's dead."
"Well Robb won't allow it."
"Robb is dead," I stop trying to argue with him. "Your mother is dead. Your little brothers are all dead. You and Sansa are the only one's left, which means the King has the right to declare who you will marry. He's decided you are to marry my son."
"You're son is on the Kingsguard, he can't marry."
"That can be undone."
I stand, "you're wrong. Arya is alive as well," she drops the cup she was bringing over. "She's been here all along, and you won't lay a hand on her," I grab Arya's arm.
"That's Jane and-."
"This is Arya of House Stark, the youngest daughter of Lord Eddard Stark, and Lady Catelyn Stark," I say moving her in front of me shaking her a little. I turn and storm out dragging her with me. I somehow make it back up to my room finally letting her go.
"What did you do that for?" she yells at me as I start to pace.
"They can't be dead. They can't be dead," I mutter over and over again.
"What are you talking about?"
"Shut up for a moment!" I sit down and hold onto my head. I try to concentrate but I can't concentrate on one without the other and I'm starting to shake. "Damn it!" I say getting up again to start pacing.
"Will you tell me what is going on?"
"Tywin said Robb and Mom are dead."
She sits down and hugs herself starting to rock, "they can't be. They can't be. You're alive and you said-, you lied to me!" she gets up and flings the door open to see the Maester. "Is it true?"
"Is what true? I need to see her," he moves into the room and Arya stays closing the door. I stand and he checks out my arm ignoring Arya's pestering questions. He tells me ways to move my arm to make it more mobile eventually. But he says it'll be painful. As he goes to leave, Arya moves in front of him blocking the way. "Are they dead?" she demands her hands on her hips.
"Maester, my mother... Is she-?" he sighs lowering his head slightly. "Tell me what happened?" I demand joining Arya in front of him.
"They were at a wedding at Walder Frey's when his wife-."
"Who was his wife? He was supposed to marry a Frey himself."
"He married some commoner Tali, Alia something like that. They were both murdered as well as your mother?"
"Who?" I whisper. "Who did it?"
"I don't know," he says. "I have to get going," he shuts the door behind him leaving us. I hug Arya feeling numb.
"I'm going to kill them, I'm going to kill them all," she says into me.
I smooth her hair down, "no they'll get what's coming to them. We have to take care of us first," I sit down holding her in my lap letting her rest her head on my shoulder. My thoughts go through all my siblings imagining their faces.
I get an image of Bran on Hodor's back in the woods somewhere, next is Rickon walking with Osha somewhere else, and then there's Sansa sitting reading a book. Last is Jon with a bunch of people somewhere unknown. I realize that I am seeing these things in the moment. When I saw Jaime earlier he was really having his wounds treated. Sansa really is reading and the others are doing as I saw them doing.
I play with Arya's hair running my fingers through her short locks wondering how to see into the future. I close my eyes and focus on Tywin, the way he looked to me. I fight past the image I get of him talking to someone a menacing look in his eye. I try to focus on the future unknown as it is. I start to get a little flash of him sitting on something. I try to focus on it and it disappears.
I refocus on Jaime and see him walking, and then I'm looking at him. He's dressed all fancy, a golden hand on the end of his arm, and he's smiling down at me. I try to see what's around him and get flashes of a huge crowd. Arya moves bringing me back to the present and I feel a headache coming on.
I focus on Sansa pushing past her reading and see her bleeding, covered in bruises, Joffrey standing over her. I sit up startled nearly pushing Arya from my lap.
I manage to move her without waking her up onto the floor. I stand and move past her and get a blanket. I bring it back to her and cover her with it. I kiss her forehead, smoothing her hair back out of her face before finding my way back to the dining room. Tywin looks up as I walk in. "I'll do it," I announce. "I'll marry your son."